I Feel Better Now
by Crazy4Cocopuffs
Summary: My first attempt at fanfics: What happenes when Serena catches Rini trying to sneak out the bathroom window? Where is she going? How does Serena solve this problem?
1. Chapter One

_I Feel Better Now_

By Crazy4Cocopuffs

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WARNING: This is my first attempt at fanfics. If you want to review, review, put please no flames.**

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Rini was walking slowly down the stairway. When she heard a high-pitched annoying laugh, she paused, just out of view. Sammy was downstairs talking, or rather flirting, with his friend Mika. Deciding that she didn't want to see Sammy make a fool out of himself, she sighed quietly and walked silently back up the stairs.

_'Wonder how I canget outnow?_' She thought to herself, pushing the bathroom door open and closing it behind her. Listening to make sure no one was nearby, she walked over to the bathroom window and threw it open. But just when she had one foot out of the window and was pulling the other up, the door burst open and Serena walked in.

"RINI! What do you think you're doing?" Serena shouted at her, grabbing her hand and pulling her back into the house.

"Umm... I'm going for a walk?" Rini suggested weakly, know that she was caught.

Serena sat Rini down on the edge of the tub and stood in front of her. "Wanna try that excuse again?" She asked, trying to read Rini's expression.

Rini looked into Serena's eyes and saw the concern and worry that rested there. Tired of being everyone's problem, she exploded. "FINE! You wanna know what's going on, I'll tell you! I'm sick of it! I'm sick of being the one that's always kidnapped and always in danger! And I'm SO SICK of not being able to do anything to defend my self! Why should I have to put the ones I love in danger because I CAN'T SAVE MYSELF?" She nearly screamed the last part, then collapsed in broken sobs.

Serena was shocked by the outburst, but she still reached and pulled Rini to her, holing her close. They rocked back and forth, Serena whispering the whole time "It's okay, Rini. It's not your fault. You're stronger than you think."

Eventually, Serena noticed that Rini's sobs had disappeared. Looking down, she saw that the girl was fast asleep. With a small smile, she picked up Rini and carried her to her own room. Pulling back the cover on her bed, Serena laid Rini down and covered her. Then she sat on the bed next to Rini and said, "You don't know this yet, Small Lady, but I am your mother. I know you hate me and I'm sorry for that, but I had hoped that you would talk to me. I'm sorry that you couldn't but I understand and I AM going to help you. Never fear, darling. I'll make this better. I love you." She kissed Rini's forehead and stood up, leaving the room.

Little did she know that Rini was still awake. While she didn't hear Serena's whole speech, she heard her say "Never fear..." and felt the gentle kiss that was placed on her forehead before she'd left. _'She's so worried. I'll try to do better, Serena. I promise. I love you too._' Those were her last thoughts as she drifted off to sleep.

Downstairs, Serena reached for the phone and dialed a familiar phone number, praying that her friend was home. After four rings, Raye finally answered.

"Hello, Cherry Hill Shrine, Raye speaking."

"Raye? It's Serena. I wanted to ask you for a favor...a big favor."

"Sure, Rena. What's up?"

"Can I use the exercise room at the shrine tomorrow? If there's no classes or anything."

"Yeah, it's free. What are you planning, Meatball Head?"

"I want to teach Rini a few self defense moves." sigh "Rini's worried about us getting hurt defendind her. She actually blew up at me tonight."

"WHAT! What happened?"

"I caught her sneaking out the bathroom window. I don't know if she was running away or what, she had no bags, but she was definitely trying to go somewhere and I don't know if she was planning to come back."

"Where is she now?"

"She's in my room, sleeping. I don't know what to do, Raye. I can't loose her, not after what we've been through."

pause "Does she know?"

"That I'm her mother? No. She may suspect i, but she doesn't know for sure."

"Are you going to tell her?"

"Yeah. I think so."

"When?"

"Soon. When she can handle it. She's under so much pressure right now that I don't want to overload her. She needs time to process all of this."

silence

"Raye?"

silence

"RAYE?"

"I'm just trying to remember when you grew a brain, Meatball Head. "

"Around the same time that you lost yours."

"Dweeb!"

"Bossy!"

"Dunce!"

"Jerk!"

"Double Jerk!"

"Triple Jerk! Ha! I win!"

"Bye Serena."

"Bye Raye."

Serena hung the phone up and glanced at the nearby clock. The time said 10:13pm. Serena yawned, tired from a long day of school, detention, and monster fighting. 'I'm going to go to bed. I don't think I can stand upright for much longer.' she thought as she climbed the stairs and entered her bedroom. Luckily for her, Rini had rolled to the far side of the bed, leaving plenty of room for Serena. After changing into her pink bunny print pajamas, Serena took her hair down and slid into bed.

Leaning across the small distance, Serena kissed Rini on the cheek and whispered, "Sweet dreams." before laying her hear on her pillow and closing her eyes.

To Be Continued.  
Short, I know. But I like it. I'll update ASAP.


	2. Chapter 2

I Feel Better Now

By Crazy4Cocopuffs

DISCLAIMER: All I own is my teddy bear!

Chapter Two: The Great Excape

Rini gripped Serena's hand tightly. It was the next day and Serena was leading her to Raye's temple for a special 'surprise'. She had no idea what Serena had planned for the day, but one look at Serena's mysterious smile and Rini knew it wouldn't be good.

"Hurry up squirt! We're late!" Serena exclaimed, tugging on Rini's arm in an attempt to get her to move faster.

"We're late because of you! It wasn't my fault that you took FOURTY FIVE MINUTES in the BATHROOM this morning! And don't call me squirt, MEATBALL HEAD!" Rini released Serena's hand and began running toward Raye's temple, while Serena screamed after her, "GET BACK HERE RINI! You are such a PAIN sometimes! Stop running! WAIT!"

Rini dashed around a corner, but when Serena followed, Rini was nowhere to be seen. "Rini? I don't have time for this right now. RINI? Where did you go?" Serena looked around. She couldn't see Rini anywhere, but she noticed the other people around her. There was a couple on a bench, a group of school children on a weekend feild trip, and a group of teenagers walking down the street. Serena went up to the teenagers and asked, "Have you seen a little girl with pink hair and red eyes?"

When they all said that they hadn't, Serena began to panic. She ran up and down the street screaming, "RINI! Where are you?" Suddenly, she noticed a pink head boarding a school bus with the group of school children. "Rini! Come back here!" Serena shouted and ran toward the bus, trying to reach it before the bus doors closed. But she was too late.

As Serena watched the bus drive away, she saw Rini in the back window, making faces at her. 'Damn stupid little brat!' Serena thought, putting a hand on her forehead. 'What'd she have to run away for? I need to find her!'

Serena began to walk in the direction that the bus had gone in, trying to think of a way to get her baby back.

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'I got away from Serena. I got away from Serena. I got away from Serena!' Rini thought. All of the kids were really nice to her, so when Rini had decide hide in the crowd, they had suggested that she just come with them. They were going to the zoo for the day (the kids went to a 7-day-a-week school) and anyone who knew Rini knew she could never say no to a trip to the zoo!

As they drove away, Rini turned in her seat at the very back of the bus and began making faces at Serena, who was watching the bus drive away. She made faces until the bus rounded the corner, then said back in her seat and began thinking.

'Maybe I shouldn't have run away. Oh well. I'll just have some fun then go home.' Rini was brought out of her thoughts as the bus pulled up to the zoo. Everything went well...for a while.

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Serena, not knowing what to do about Rini's disappearence, returned to her house. No one was home. Serena went to the home and called Raye first.

RING! RING!

"Hello, Shinto Temple, Raye speaking."

(in a quiet voice) "Hey, Raye. It's Serena. Me and Rini can't make it today. You know, to use the excercise room at the temple? We're busy and...well, we can't."

"Why not, Meatball Head? Forget how to get here or something?"

"Um, no. Well, you see, I... IkindalostRiniandnowIhavetofindher."

"What? Okay, Serena, say all that again only slower."

"Well, see, I was walking to your temple with Rini and we were fighting and I kinda...lost her."

"YOU LOST RINI? SERENA!"

"I know, I know! I'm trying to find her. I think she went with a bunch of school kids, but they got on a bus and went somewhere and I don't know where!"

Hearing that Serena was starting to panic, Raye tried to calm her down. "Sere, It's okay. We'll find her. So, mighty leader, what do you want me to do?"

Not noticing Raye's sarcasm, Serena replied, "If you can call Mina and Lita, tell them what happened, then split up and search the town, I'll call Ami and Darien and do the same." She paused and Raye heard a sniffle. "We have to find her, Raye. I need to know that she's safe."

"We'll find her, don't worry. Now let's get to it!"

"Thanks a million, Raye."

"No problem. We'll find her. Bye."

"Bye."

Serena place the phone on its base and leaned against the wall. A single tear drop ran down her face and she brushed it away quickly, mumbling to herself, "Nothing's going to happen to her. She'll be fine. Stop worrying, Serena, she'll be fine." She picked the phone up again and dialed Ami's number.

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The group took a guided tour, saw the snakes and birds and tigers, and had ice cream cones while watching the sharks. Their last stop of the day was the monkey pen. It was getting late, around four in the afternoon, and the teachers were tired, so they weren't paying very much attention to the students. There was a fence surrounding the monkey pen with a walkway that ran over top of it. The walkway had a railing, but no fence.

The class had crossed the walkway and were making their way to the exit. Of course, Rini and a group of about five other children chose to take on last look. Rini laughed as a monkey rolled out of sight after making a face at her. She leaned over the railing to try and spot the monkey again, but she leaned over a little too far.

"HELP!" She screamed as she fell twenty feet into a dense bush in the monkey pen. The other children ran for help, most of the screaming and crying. Rini laid there with her eyes closed, stunned, for a few minutes before moving. Sitting up, her eyes still closed, Rini felt someone poke her back. "Knock it off Serena!" She shouted as she turned around and opened her eyes. But instead of seeing Serena, she saw... a monkey!

Rini screamed and tried to back away from the monkey, but she had to stop when her back hit the bush behind her. She quickly pulled her knees to her chest and hid her head, trying to get the monkey to forget about her and leave. But the monkey still watched her.

Help was finally arriving. The teachers, having heard Rini scream and discovered her in the monkey pen, trapped against the wall by a monkey, had immediately gone to the zoo office and told the zoo keeper what had happened. The zoo keeper, Brian, grabbed a ring of keys off of a hook on the wall, rushed to help.

Back at the monkey pen, Rini peeked over her knees and watched as the monkey slowly approached her. It seemed curious about what she was. It came closer and closer until it could finally touch her. And it did. It reached out and poked her leg, making Rini jump and give a small scream. The monkey jumped back as well and sat down about ten feet away, just watching her. When Rini had jumped back, she felt her back get deeply scratched by the fence. Not wanting to draw more attention to herself from the monkey, she bit her lip to keep from crying.

A minute later, Zoo Keeper Brian ran to the ground-level fence door and unlocked it, stepping into the enclosure. He went straight to Rini's monkey, picked him up and place him in a tree branch, out of the way, so he could reach Rini. Rini was picked up and carried out of the fenced area. All of the children from the school were clapping, happy that she was safe and excited for her because she had gotten to see a wild animal up close.

Luckily, Brian had notice the cuts on Rini's back and had insisted on taking her to the local hospital.

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While the girls and Darien were out searching the town for Rini, Serena waited by the kitchen phone. It was decided that Serena should stay at her house in case Rini called for help or someone called to say that they'd found her. She sat at the kitchen table, absently staring at the same page in the magazine.

When the phone's loud ring sounded through the silent kitchen, Serena nearly jumped out of her seat. She lunged at the phone and answered breathlessly, "Hello?"

"Is this a Miss Serena Tsukino?"

"Yes. And who is this?"

"I'm sorry. My name is Marie Johnson and I'm a nurse at Juuban Memorial Hospital. We have a patient here with no identification and we were told to inform you of her condition."

Serena's heart dropped. "Who is the patient? Can you describe her?"

"She's around five years old, and she has pink hair and red eyes. She's quite smart for her age and she said her name is Rini. Do you know her?"

"Yes. She's my daughter," Serena said without thinking. "Is she all right?"

"She's fine, Mrs. Tsukino. She just had a little accident. You're gonna need to pick her up and talk with the doctor. He may have instructions for you when you get here."

"All right. I'll be right there. Thank you."

"You're very welcome. Your daughter is so sweet. I'll tell her you're on your way. Goodbye."

"Thank you. Goodbye."

Serena dropped the phone, grabbed her purse and a coat for herself and Rini and ran out the door, only pausing to lock the door on her way out. She jumped on the closest bus and arrived at the hospital in no time. The nurse at the front desk of the emergency room directed Serena to a closed door on the other side of the room.

Serena approached the door slowly, afraid of what lay behind it. Her hand stayed on the door handle until the sound of a child's soft crying reached her ears. As soon as she heard Rini crying, Serena pushed into the room. She was shocked to see Rini in the corner of the room, curled up in a ball and crying, while a man stood over her.

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I know you hate me for ending it there, but I'm working on the next chapter and didn't want to give too much away. Please review! I need inspiration! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! 


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